Following the bankruptcy filing of the chatbot firm Character.AI, numerous employees are set to transition to positions at Disney.
Karandeep Anand, the former CEO of Character.AI, has recently been appointed as the first CTO of Disney. Additionally, the startup disclosed that Disney had agreed to acquire certain assets for a sum of $20 million.
A legal document reviewed by Bloomberg uncovered more specifics regarding the deal, indicating that Disney plans to extend job offers to at least 60 employees from Character.AI, which accounts for a significant portion of the company’s workforce. They are projected to receive around $60 million in total yearly compensation.
The document also noted that a substantial majority of those offered positions with Disney have accepted. It is important to mention that this arrangement is a stalking horse bid, meaning that another entity might come forward with a competing offer.
According to the filing, despite having a “large and engaged user base,” Character.AI has faced challenges due to high operational expenses and ongoing “potential litigation-related liabilities and regulatory issues.” The company is currently dealing with a lawsuit from a mother whose son allegedly became infatuated with one of its chatbots before taking his own life, as well as governmental inquiries regarding child safety matters.
